Morrelmel

We had a bad fire three years back in the mountain of central Idaho. This creates perfect condition for Morrel mushrooms, and we harvested a lot of them last year. I know there are going to be a couple buckets full to harvest this year as well.

Found that while washing them off to clean them the water becomes a morrel flavored broth. This broth was very tasty, with a very unique nutty taste. Soaking them and agitate them, then filter out the liquid and you have the broth.

I was kicking it around in my head to make a medium mead with this morrel broth. When I mention it to people they give me a look like I'm crazy, but I think that a nutty honey drunken goodness is right.

Am I off my rocker or is something like this accomplisable?

I say go for it. When will anyone you've ever known even get the chance to make this, let alone be crazy enough to go for it. In my mind you have no choice. :rockin:

Go for it. Make a small batch if you are concerned.

The only way to know if something is going to work is to try it.

Worth a try, at least for a gallon batch.

That is definitely worth a three gallon batch. Do it. and do it now.

Use a delicate honey like clover and I would say go for a dry mead in the 12% ABV range.

The dry mead yeast from Wyeast has given me great results.

Just use some campden to sterilize the broth otherwise you may have something wild on your hands!

There was a big burn here about 6-7 years ago, any tips for morel hunting? I live in the mountains at around 7000 feet... Thanks!

I think you should totally go for it. Mushroom Mead...how could it go wrong?

+10 to sterilizing it and trying it! And keep updated posts and pics.

I say not only go for it, but slice up a morrel or 2 & pop 'em in secondary. Maybe even simmer a few chopped for the primary. I think this is quite a unique idea & I'm curious to see how it turns out for you. Even if it's not something to sip, it'll be something to cook with. Keep us posted on the progress. Regards, GF.

Wow... that gives me an awesome idea. Depending on what the flavor develops into, and if it is working nicely. You could collect and dry some very small morrels and put one in each bottle. Bottle in a clear wine bottle and it would look awesome!

Mr. Nice Guy said:

Just use some campden to sterilize the broth otherwise you may have something wild on your hands!

There was a big burn here about 6-7 years ago, any tips for morel hunting? I live in the mountains at around 7000 feet... Thanks!

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The season starts at southern lower elevations and moves upward and northward with the warming temperatures. They usually grow in spread out groups, so once you find one you will most likely find others hiding near by. It is also important to know the difference between a morel and a false morel. The morning dew or after a small rain shower is ideal, since they will be nice and plump and easier to spot.

Would look like little brains in a bottle

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

Wow... that gives me an awesome idea. Depending on what the flavor develops into, and if it is working nicely. You could collect and dry some very small morrels and put one in each bottle. Bottle in a clear wine bottle and it would look awesome!

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I think it is a cool idea to work some more of the morels into the recipe. Adding them into the secondary could be just the thing.

If adding a dried morel to each bottle would look like a tiny brain, you could call it "Zombie Mead" and serve it for Halloween.

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

Wow... that gives me an awesome idea. Depending on what the flavor develops into, and if it is working nicely. You could collect and dry some very small morrels and put one in each bottle. Bottle in a clear wine bottle and it would look awesome!

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Good idea!

It would be essential to either boil the broth or use some campden tablets. You DON"T want live spoors in your mead. You will more than likely end up with more mushrooms if you do, or at least the beginings. This is the one item that I would be VERY careful on sanitation on. But it sounds like it could be an interesting batch. I would do the 1 gallon first and I wouldn't make a descision on this one until AFTER it has had a chance to age a year or two.

Aye.

Here is my final decision :

I'm going to do one batch. I am not a fan of sulfiting so I will pasteurize the broth, add a very light honey and ferment it dry in a 1 gallon batch targeting 12% abv. Once I do bottle I will be adding the tiny morels to the bottle, and yes into clear bottles.

I plan on morel hunting this weekend, so hopefully I can have some pics by next week.

Good idea with the pastuerizing. Thanks for the hunting tips. Good luck, this sounds awesome!

make sure you get your mushroom ID spot on...

Pyslosybin melomel anyone? :fro:

How do you sterilize a mushroom!? lol! It IS fungus! Do it! Call it "The mushroom treatment-feed it sh**, keep it in the dark"

Snuffalupagus said:

make sure you get your mushroom ID spot on...

Pyslosybin melomel anyone? :fro:

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I have read if you want to store psilocybin mushrooms that you can store them in honey. The psychoactive elements turn the honey blue, then you can remove the mushrooms I think, wacky. This is how the band Pearl Jam got its name, that is what they call it.

Funny you bring this up. I was talking to my hippy friend who taught me how to hunt for morels and he told me about the pearl jam. For the most part, local honey here is very yellow, so his pearl jam turned out mostly greenish.

But we got into a conversation about the hydroscopic aspect of honey and mushrooms, and agreed that morel mushroom would leach all their flavor if stored in honey. Better yet, the mushroom body left behind after leaching into the honey becomes hard like leather, making for perfect additions to a clear bottle during bottling of the mead.

I'm also setting up apiaries in the desert valley to the south of were I live, so I'm going to do a true organic morelmel mead, using honeys hydroscopic properties to gain morel flavors, and leaving the mushroom corpse in the final product.

Wonder if anyone has made a mead from pearl jam... would be very interesting

Mr. Nice Guy said:

I have read if you want to store psilocybin mushrooms that you can store them in honey. The psychoactive elements turn the honey blue, then you can remove the mushrooms I think, wacky. This is how the band Pearl Jam got its name, that is what they call it.

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just pasteurize the broth first. don't want to end up with moldy mead.

Just aquired 5lbs of now dried morel mushrooms!

I also found this online which I'm going to study and cherry-pick :
Mushroom wine - Patent 7244456

I'll post pics soon

I know I'm resurrecting a dead thread, but I was kind of wondering what the results of your experiment was.

Hate to sink this boat, as it was an awesome thread (esp. the idea about making a mead out of pearl jam), but digdan has not posted since April of 2011. There was definitely a drop off, too, as she only posted twice that year. I doubt she'll respond, bro.

I sent digdan a PM a while back and got a response today.

Illuveatar said:

A thread you started about Morel Melomel has been resurrected and we were all wondering how it turned out. I don't know if this message will get to you since you haven't posted in a while but maybe you'll be notified by email of this PM.

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digdan said:

Ahh yea, it has been so long I forgot how that brew turned out. I don't remember throwing any away, so I guess it turned out drinkable Sorry, but I have taken a break from brewing for awhile.

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Well it's not as detailed as I was hoping but it sounds like Morelmel is at least drinkable. I had some morel cheese recently that tasted great. I'll probably head north to Mesick Michigan next spring to collect mushrooms. Mesick is the mushroom capital of the US, my mother went two years ago and came back with over a bushel of morels.

Would it be more appropriate to call this a Metheglin or maybe a new mead style Fungimel ?

I vote for Fungimel!